Bollywood couple Genelia, Riteish Deshmukh launch plant-based meat venture

New Delhi: Following the growing global trend of veganism and vegan meat, Bollywood celebrity couple Genelia and Ritesh Deshmukh on Monday announced their entrepreneurial venture focussed on plant-based meat products.

The company called Imagine Meats will launch a variety of products tailor made for Indian palate through various retail channels in the coming months.

It has worked in partnership with the Indian arm of global non-profit organisation The Good Food Institute (GFI) that promotes plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs as well as cultivated meat as alternatives to the products of conventional animal agriculture.

Imagine Meats has also tied up with global ingredients manufacturer Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Nutrition India, which allowed it to access expertise in food science, flavours, and product development across Singapore, Berlin, and the United States. These experts worked closely with Imagine Meats to cater to Indian palate with products to create dishes such as kebabs, biryanis, and curries.

"We want Imagine Meats to be the choice for anybody seeking the taste of meat, without the guilt of environmental and public health impacts - just as it will be for our own family,” said Genelia Deshmukh.

The launch of the venture is significant in countries like India, where meat consumption is expected to rise radically over the next decades creating environmental impact in an already stressed environment.

Varun Deshpande, managing director at the Good Food Institute India, said India is taking its first steps, in a sector which is soaring globally and demonstrating a model to save the planet.